Aquavit and Lemon

Pour aquavit over ice into a large old fashioned glass and top with Bitter Lemon soda. Squeeze your lemon zest over the top to extract the oils, rub it around the rim, and drop it into the glass.

Ok, this is basically a Gin & Tonic but I made an Aquavit Old Fashioned the other day with lemon bitters and zest and while musing on how well this spirit pairs with citrus, lemon in particular, I thought it would be fantastic with Fever Tree Bitter Lemon soda. Not your ordinary lemon-lime soda, Fever Tree Bitter Lemon is an all-natural, lightly sweetened, bitter lemon tonic that nicely compliments the flavors of the aged aquavit I’m using. While not branded as a tonic, this soda does contain quinine which lends its distinctive flavor to the drink.

The aquavit I’m using here is Gammel Krogstad, an aged aquavit from Portland’s own House Spirits Distillery. While aquavit might make you think of cold weather, given its Scandinavian origins, I’m finding it’s a nice change from gin on hot summer days.

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Comments 1 Comment So Far

speaking as a norwegian who has sometimes improvised with aquavit when there was no gin in the house, i didn’t much like the combination of aquavit and regular tonic. the caraway taste doesn’t marry all that well in it, i think.

what i do like is an aquavit sour, actually. contrary to what might be natural to do, i use lime in it and not lemon. frankly i use lime in everything nowadays, i’ve grown tired of lemon juice. :/